I'm laying on the ground, I know because it's hard, and cold. I hear voices, not inside my head, not this time. Most of the voices are quiet, except for one, and that one is extremely loud and it's giving me a headache. I try to open my eyes but can't bring myself to do so. My eyes move behind my lids. I start to shake as the cold wind caresses my aching body. I let out a low groan and shake my head. That loud voice is still there, louder now. Finally I can understand it.
"What the fuck?! Why the hell would a fucking girl be out in the middle of a fucking forest, bleeding all over everything?!" The voice yelled.
"Hidan, shut up." A quieter voice said. I still can't bring myself to open my eyes. I'm shaking, not because of the cold, because I'm scared. Scared that wherever that voice is coming from is going to hurt me, even kill me. Isn't that what I wanted in the first place? I remember now, it all comes back to me and I sit up, my eyes fly open and I'm gasping for breath. In front of me there are two people, one has silver hair and pinkish eyes. The other wears a mask and has eerie green eyes.
I try to scootch backward, but I can't. I look down at my arms, covered in scratches, bruises, cuts. Self-inflicted, and I know it. I'm the one who did it. I look to the people in front of me again, my eyes wide with panic. I don't see how I survived, after all that I did, all my attempts are gone. Wasted. I had endured so much pain, suffering and all just to be put back into this world of hurt.
"Relax. We're not going to hurt you." Someone said. It didn't come from the two in front of me. I look up, only to cower back in fear. There is a tall man in front of me. He has bright orange hair and lots of piercings. His eyes are a light purple, with silver irises. But not just one, many irises. I start shaking again, and the man crouches down to me. I look to the ground beside me, discolored from my blood.
I close my eyes, still shaking. I open my eyes to find the man still in front of me, his gaze scares me, but not enough to make me fully scared like I was before. There's a softness in his gaze, he's not angry.
"Itachi, heal her." He said, and stands up. A black-haired boy with blood-red eyes walks toward me. I scootch backwards even though it causes me pain. I groan with each inch that I move.
"Stop." The black-haired boy said. "I'm trying to help you, and I can't do that if you're going to run away." He said. I stay still, he walks over and crouches in front of me. He holds out his hands and they begin to glow green. I know this, it's a healing jutsu. He really isn't trying to hurt me, I keep staying still. He gently presses his hands against my shoulder, the pain eases immediately. He takes his hands away and then presses them against my other shoulder. He does the same with my legs and ankles. He stands up and offers a hand in my direction.
"Get up." He orders. I take his hand and stand up, after all he has healed me. I realize there is another person. He has light blonde hair and light blue eyes. Most of his hair is pulled back into a ponytail and his long blonde bangs cover one of his eyes. He stands up against a tree, showing no interest. I back up against the nearest tree and stare at them. They stare back. I notice that every one of them is wearing the same cloak. It's mostly black, with red and white clouds on it.
"Are we gonna kill her?" The loud one asks after a minute of silence.
"Hidan, if we were going to kill her, why do you think I had Itachi heal her? We're not going to kill her." Said the one with the bright orange hair. He has a point, I don't really have a reason to be scared, they healed me. If they were going to kill me, I would already be dead. With the state I had been in, they could've killed me with a single blow. I relax a little bit and retract from the tree a bit.
"So, what's your name?" Asked the man with the bright orange hair.
"You know, it's more polite to give your own name before asking people for theirs." Comes my responce, not caring what they'll do.
"Fine. I'm Pein." He says, stepping forward. "This is Hidan." He says pointing at the loud one."This is Itachi." He says, pointing to the one who healed me."Deidara." He says, pointing to the blonde one. "And that's Kakuzu." He finishes, pointing toward the masked one. I nod to each of them as they are introduced. 'My name? What is my name?' I think, searching inside my head. Then it hits me. "Emmeline!" I suddenly think.
"I'm Emmeline Mae." I said, taking a step closer. I can't remember my real name, so I just stick to what I know. Mae is a common name upon these parts, and they won't search farther past it.
"Well Emmeline, we think that you could be of use to us. So, come with us and you won't have to suffer anymore." Says the one named Pein. 'They've got to know. They know that I tried to kill myself. They know it failed, but they say I can be of use. Maybe I won't suffer anymore.' I think, but I stay by the tree, still a little scared.
"Come with us. You certainly aren't happy here. That much is obvious." Pein said. I nod and begin to follow them. I walk behind Pein, behind the rest are walking. 'Why do they want me?' I wonder. We arrive at a big cave-like structure hidden in the woods. To the left there is a big cliff with a lake at the bottom. To the other side there is lots of rocks, a bad place for a small child to play.
Pein opens the door to the cave and you would never think that this cave hid a place like this. I walk into what seem to be a living room, there are two couches, both medium-sized. There is also a TV, it's off but it sits on a stand which holds DVDs and CDs of all types. Pein leads me down a hallway, with many doors each labeled but I don't have enough time to read them before I am pushed into a room.
I caught a glimpse at the label before I was pushed into the room. It had read 'Leader' I look around the room, it seems like an oridnary office: A dark mahogany desk cluttered with paperwork and a chair beside it. There is also a table with four chairs surrounding it. There are no windows. Pein leads me to a chair and I sit down, confused.
"This is my office. This is where I get jobs for us to do, and record them, and report them as complete." He said, sitting in the chair across from me. I nod in response.
"If you need me for any reason, I would suggest you come here, unless I tell you I am somewhere else. Ok?" He said, looking at me. I nod again.
"Come with me." He says, standing up. I stand up and follow him out the door. He leads me down the hallway to the very end, around the corner, through a door, through another door and then we finally reach another door. It isn't labeled. He opens it and walks in, I follow him into the room, closing the door behind me.
"This room was initially built for me but, since I almost never sleep you may use it. There is a bathroom and shower next door. After you get situated and things are comfortable for you, I will introduce you to the others. Both the bathroom and the bedroom doors have locks if need, though almost no one knows about this room, and the bathroom, or rather this whole hallway." He says, and takes a few breaths. I nod and look at the ground.
"I will be back in about an hour. Feel free to shower and make yourself comfortable." He says and without another word, leaves. I stand there for a minute, wondering what I had just gotten myself into. I don't sit down on the bed because I don't want to get anything dirty. I walk out of the bedroom and into the bathroom a short distance away.
The bathroom is quite large. It has a shower, and a counter with a sink and other normal things you find in a bathroom. I find a towel and begin to shower. Scraping the dirt and dried blood off my skin that has healed. My hands roam over the scar on my stomach where I had stabbed myself. I wash my face and hair and then turn off the water. I dry off and find a set of fresh clothes and put them on.
a pair of skinny jeans that are a size too big, and a long-sleeved blue-and-black striped shirt. I look at my face in the mirror, my ice blue eyes, one of them covered by the red bangs that cover most of my face. I run my finger over the lip ring I've had since I was 14. My bangs are a light blue, but the rest of my hair is black and travels all the way down to my hips. I find a brush and comb through it, tearing out the knots. I walk back into the room and put on my boots I had previously wearing. I sat down on the bed and waited for Pein to come.
PEIN'S POV_
I leave the room, hoping to find the others. I walk out into the living room where everyone now sits. Well not everyone, there is one person missing. But even I can't bring her back. I sigh and walk into the middle of the living room. Everyone who doesn't know about Emmeline sits in the living room. This includes Kisame, Tobi, Sasori, and Zetsu. They wait anxiously for me to tell them why they're here.
"Someone new is here." I said, hoping they won't ask too many questions I don't know the answers to.
"Who?" Kisame asked.
"A girl, named Emmeline." I said.
"A girl?" Sasori asked.
"Yes Sasori, a girl. No this does not mean you all go on a free for all trying to make her fall in love with you. She's been through a lot, she has tried to commit suicide and ended up in the forest. We just happened to roam across her almost-dead body. Itachi healed her." I said, looking at the ground.
"A new girl?!" Tobi said excitedly. "Tobi can't wait to meet her!" He shouts. I can hear the water running from the shower. I glance at the ceiling and then at the ground.
"So, what does this girl look like?" Kisame asked, raising an eyebrow. The water stops, I don't talk for a while.
"You'll see." I say, turning my back on them and heading toward the room. I open the door without knocking out of habit, normally nobody's in here. She's sitting on the bed, hands in her lap, looking bored. She jumps slightly when I come in, not expecting me. She was dressed in a long-sleeved black-and-blue striped shirt and some black skinny jeans that looked just a bit big on her. She was also wearing the boots she had been before.
I notice how blue her eyes look now, and how much of her face is covered by her hair. She's actually quite pretty, beautiful, really. 'Stop it!' I think, mentally slapping myself. I can't think this of her, if she knew she would be offended. She looks at me with her ice blue eyes and tilts her head slightly.
"Are you ready?" I asked, looking at her. She nods back and stands up from the bed, following me to the living room.
EMMELINE'S POV_
I sit on the bed, waiting for him. Suddenly he comes in, opening the door, temporarily surprising me. I jump slightly and then quickly recover. He looks at me for a while, as if studying me.
"Are you ready?" He asked, looking at me. I nod and stand up, following him back through the hallway and into the living room where some new people and the people from before sat. The new people seemed to stare at me without looking away.
"Itachi, Hidan, Deidara, Kakuzu, and Hidan, you have already met Emmeline, but Tobi, Zetsu, Sasori, and Kisame, you haven't. This is Emmeline." He said, nodding towards me. I smile shyly and give a small wave. One of them in an orange mask with black swirls stands up and jumps at me, coiling itself around me like a snake.
"Tobi is glad to meet Emmeline!" It shouts. I guess this one's name is Tobi. I gently push the little creature aside, trying not to be rude. The one with blue skin stands up and smiles at me, he has pointed teeth like a shark, and I was starting to think he was one. He had gills, and his skin was blue and so was his hair.
"I'm Kisame. That's Tobi, if you haven't already found that out." He said, dragging Tobi back and setting him on the couch. The one with a large venus fly trap around its multi-colored face stands up and offers a hand to me. I take it and he shakes hands with me.
"Zetsu." He says and sits back down. I nod and one with red hair and dark brown eyes stands up.
"I'm Sasori. Yes, I am a puppet. See?" He said, pulling up the sleeve of the black cloak. Under it was wood, with joints. He really was a puppet. I nod in response and he pulls the sleeve back down. He smiles at me and I try to smile back. Pein asks Itachi to look after me and he agrees. Itachi gently takes my hand and brings me into what seems to be a kitchen. There's a stove and lots of cupboards. There's also a microwave and a coffee pot.
"Are you hungry?" He asked, looking at me. I shrug. I really am hungry but don't say anything. Itachi cooks something in the kitchen and then sets a bowl in front of me. It's a bowl of sticky rice. I pick up some chopsticks and eat, little by little. After I'm done, I sit there staring at the now empty bowl. Itachi picks up the bowl and brings it to the sink. He washes it out and walks over to where I am, sitting at a table, looking at the ground. He sits across from me, looking at me. I can feel his eyes on me.
"Come on." He said, standing up. He leads me to a room labeled 'Itachi & Kisame' He opens the door without knocking to reveal a surprised Kisame.
"Kisame, we need to tell her about Konan." Itachi said, gesturing for me to sit on one of the two beds in the room.
"Ah, Konan. Pein sure misses her, you can see it in his eyes." Kisame said, sitting next to me.
"Who's Konan?" I asked, looking at Itachi, who sat on the other side of me.
"She was Pein's old partner. This is her." He said, holding out a picture. It was of a blue-haired woman. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, but she had bangs that framed her face. Next to the bun there sat a white paper flower. She had golden amber eyes and a labret piercing.
"She's beautiful." I said, half-smiling.
"Yeah, and everyone loved her. Especially Pein." Itachi said, looking at the ground.
"But, she died in battle a couple of months ago." Kisame said, looking sad.
"Pein and her had been best friends as children. And they loved each other. I've only seen Pein smile a couple of times, and when he did, it was around Konan." Itachi said, frowning.
"Wow. I feel bad for Pein. He lost his best friend." I said, looking at the ground.
"Yeah, we all do. But, don't mention her to Pein, he'll probably get mad. I'm surprised that he told us to save you. I thought for sure that he would tell us to leave you. He says you're strong. And I believe him. You tried to commit suicide, right?" Itachi asked, looking at me. I nodded back somberly.
"Now why would a pretty girl like you try to commit suicide?" Kisame asked, looking at me.
"I've gone through a lot, I guess. My dad walked out on me and my mom when my mom was pregnant with me. And then when I was 10, my mom committed suicide. I've been bullied ever since I was little because I was in a foster home. I don't know my dad, and I don't remember much of my mom. I was just done of suffering. Done with life. I didn't mean anything to anybody anymore. Nobody would care if I was gone. I tried so hard, and only to end up here. So thanks, I guess." I said, this was the most I'd spoken since I got here.
"Well, you don't deserve to suffer like that. And that's not true, somebody had to care." Kisame said, patting my shoulder. I shrugged back, staring at the ground.
"Come on. Pein said he wanted to see you after you ate something." Itachi said, standing up. I stood up and followed him into the door labeled 'Leader' Itachi knocked twice and then we heard a voice inside call out. Itachi opened the door, leading me into the room where I had been before. Pein was sitting at a desk, paperwork scattered all over the desk and a pen in his hand. I sat down in one of the chairs around the small table and Itachi left.
"Did you eat something?" He asked, not looking up from his paper.
"Yes." I replied quietly, looking at the ground. I could hear the pen moving across the paper when suddenly it stopped, and I could feel him standing beside me. I hadn't heard him get up from his chair at the desk, or walk over to where I was. I blinked a couple of times and then looked down. I felt something cold touch my shoulder. I looked over to see a pale hand resting on my shoulder. I looked up at Pein, he looked down at me with the same gaze he'd had when he looked at me in the forest. He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to figure something out.
"Tell me, why did you do this to yourself?" He asked, tracing his hand down my arm to a scar, where I had stabbed myself.
"I - Lot's of reasons." I said, after stuttering a little.
"Like what?" He asked, his voice soft.
"When my mom was pregnant with me, my dad left us. And then when I was 10, my mom committed suicide. I grew up being bullied because I never had a mother. And I felt like no one would care if I was gone, no one would notice." I whispered, looking at the ground. I felt his hand move up to my cheek, gently touching the skin there. I didn't move and closed my eyes. His hand travelled down to my neck and I shivered, he slowly retracts his hand and steps away.
"It's late. You should get some sleep. Tomorrow we will go get your things." He said, backing up a little.
"Ok." I said, nodding. I stood up and walked out of the room and back into the hallway. I went back into the bedroom, and sat on the bed. After taking off my boots, I got up and turned the tight off. I climbed into a the bed and had trouble getting to sleep.